Emmanuel Macron: Modern president with Midas touch

He's the man with the Midas touch -- and French President Emmanuel Macron has proved it again, with his party projected to win an overwhelming majority in parliament after topping the first round of voting.

He’s the man with the Midas touch — and French President Emmanuel Macron has proved it again, with his party projected to win an overwhelming majority in parliament after topping the first round of voting.(Image: Reuters)

He’s the man with the Midas touch — and French President Emmanuel Macron has proved it again, with his party projected to win an overwhelming majority in parliament after topping the first round of voting. Just four weeks after taking office and 14 months after founding his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) party, his candidates are poised to sweep aside parties that have dominated parliament for half a century.
But the hardest part may lie ahead. While REM is set to crush its rivals, the 39-year-old president could struggle to get his plans for far-reaching labour reforms past the fiery French streets. So far, however, he has enjoyed a political honeymoon. From Germany’s Angela Merkel to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders have been lining up for photo-ops with “le Kid”, as L’Express news weekly nicknamed him.

Resistance is futile, as US President Donald Trump found out when he tried — but failed — to dominate Macron in a memorable white-knuckle handshake at a NATO summit. A few days later Trump dropped a bombshell when he confirmed plans to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.
But he was arguably again upstaged by Macron, who replied with an English-language appeal to the world to “make our planet great again”, in a riff on Trump’s own slogan. “France is in vogue again, France is cool,” Spain’s El Pais newspaper wrote, comparing the Macronmania to the Obamamania that swept the US after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. At home, Macron has adopted a divide-and-rule approach to opponents, wooing moderates from the left and the right to neuter the opposition. It’s a strategy that appears to have paid off.

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“At the moment you could take a goat wearing a Macron badge and it would have a good chance of being elected,” joked BFMTV political commentator Christophe Barbier. The son of two doctors from the northeastern city of Amiens had made a career out of breaking the mould. The former investment banker is married to his 64-year- old former teacher Brigitte, a divorced mother of three whom he fell for as a teen. His path to France’s highest office is as unusual as their inter-generational love story. Macron had never held elected office before throwing his hat into the ring to replace president Francois Hollande, two years after Hollande promoted him from political unknown to become economy minister.

In a country where political careers have traditionally been built over decades, Macron took the risk of founding his own party rather than seek the nomination of the right or left. Macron used his image as a moderniser to draw in thousands of volunteers to his party, which was modelled partly on Obama’s 2008 campaign. The downfall of the Socialists and a scandal engulfing the conservative Republicans fuelled his rise, allowing him to lead the battle against the far-right’s Marine Le Pen whom he beat soundly in the election run-off. While fans compare him to late US president John F. Kennedy he appears to be more inspired by Francois Mitterrand and Charles de Gaulle, two presidents remembered for their monarchical style.

Since his inauguration Macron has sought to restore lost prestige to the presidency, delivering his victory speech in front of the Louvre museum — a former royal palace — and hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin at Versailles palace. He has also kept a tight rein on communications, to minimise the risk of slip-ups. He failed to prevent one early blunder from being caught on camera, however. During a recent visit to Brittany he was caught joking with officials about the flimsy “kwassa-kwassa” boats that transport migrants to the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago. The kwassa-kwassa doesn’t do much fishing, it carries Comorians,” he said laughing. The remark caused outrage given the thousands of migrants who have died in such crossings. Macron’s office later admitted to an “unfortunate quip that may have been hurtful”.